4 of the healthiest nuts to pick at the party

By: Michelle Edelbaum | Friday, December 3, 2010

If you’re eating with my husband and me you need to be quick to get what you want when it comes to certain foods. He’s a
chunk hunter and I’m a cherry picker. His ice-cream-scooping power has laserlike accuracy when it comes to finding and
extracting the delectable bits of sinfulness from cookie-, candy- and swirl-packed ice creams. When it comes to nuts, I like
to scavenge around the nut bowl to pick out just the varieties I want to eat. (Yes, I’m that girl.)

Turns out my habit may have some health benefits. All nuts are packed with heart-healthy fats. But some picks rise about the
rest in terms of nutrition benefits, as Caitlin
Chapman wrote about in the November/December issue of EatingWell Magazine. Here are 4 of the healthiest nuts to eat. (FYI
to peanut lovers—they're a healthy choice too but we didn't consider them in this roundup because they're technically
legumes.)

Walnuts
Walnuts (185 calories per 14 halves or 1 ounce) are the only nuts that offer a significant amount of the omega-3 fat
alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA’s anti-inflammatory properties halt plaque buildup in the arteries that results when “bad”
LDL cholesterol is oxidized. The omega-3 is also linked with improved glucose control and stronger bones. In a study of 23
overweight people published in 2007 in Nutrition Journal, increasing intake of ALA via walnuts and flaxseed oil
decreased the rate of bone breakdown.

Almonds
A 1-ounce serving (23 nuts, 162 calories) has 37 percent of your daily value for vitamin E—a nutrient many Americans fall
short on. You’ll also get calcium, fiber and some folate. A June 2006 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry showed an ounce of almonds provides as many flavonoids—compounds that fight free radicals and reduce
inflammation—as a 1/2-cup serving of broccoli or a cup of green tea.

Pecans
Pecans (19 halves, 193 calories per serving) contain more antioxidants—compounds that sweep up tissue-damaging free
radicals—than any other tree nut, according to a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Pecans
also provide notable amounts of zinc, a mineral most often found in animal-based foods.